The Nip Den
by Lucario389
Summary: Nick and Judy have been hand selected to go on Zootopia's biggest drug bust along with the Zootopia's best officers it has to offer. Nip is what it is called and it has nearly destroyed the city with its harmful affects. Tragedy strikes during the operation that will change them both forever. This story was inspired by the AU comic created by Mistermead.
1. Tragedy

The sun was high in the sky and ready to start falling with the wind ever so slightly present, leaving the feeling of want as it caressed the skin and fur of the citizens of Zootopia. The city was busy as usual as mammals went about their daily business, whether it was shopping, working or socializing. A police cruiser (small in stature compared to the rest of the cruisers) was driven by ZPD's best officer. Judy Hopps, a small town rabbit from Bunny Burrows, was accompanied by her partner for nearly eight years now, Nick Wilde. Nick was a red fox who was urged into joining the force after he had helped her solve the Nighthowler case. During all these years, they had fallen furiously in love with each other. Nick and Judy had even gotten married and were Zootopia's first public interspecies marriage.

They have been like that for nearly six years now with them as a happy married couple for the last two years and they were inseparable. Nick looked over to Judy who was covered head to toe in body armor and equipment. It amazed him that he found her so attractive despite all the things covering her body. He looked into his side mirror to see himself in similar armor. They were followed by four other cruisers and one large SWAT truck as today was the day they were going to take down the most ruthless crime orginization to ever run rampant in the city of Zootopia. They were simply known as the Nippers and their special drug (nip)was destroying the city. It was like a disease and like all diseases, they never end well. They were small, but very dangerous as they have had many gun fights with other gangs and somehow managed to win them all and push the losing gangs off their turfs.

Nick thought about what they had discussed earlier that day in the briefing room as they discussed the details of the mission they were heading to right now.

 _"Today is the day we bring these bastards in. For six months now these guys have been running rampant all over the city and now we can hit them on their own_ _turf so listen up and listen carefully!" Bogo was pointing at a map of the city while everyone was standing vigilant and proper. Nick listened to the Chief as he named off_ _officer after officer who would be going on this special assignment. His heart sank when he heard his name and Judy's name get called, but it was to be expected as they were the best the city had to offer to its citizens. He was begining to zone out all the noise when he thought of how he would approach Judy with something very important, but he was suddenly snapped out of it when Bogo began to yell in an inspirational way._

 _"Ok this is it. After all these months of undercover work, Officer Wolford was able to find their base of operations and who their leader is. But it cost him_ _dearly. I will not go into the details as we will get our chance to make sure this will not have been for nothing!" Chief Bogo slammed his fist down onto the table which was covered in papers and plans._

 _Everyone in the room stood quietly as they listened to Bogo speak. "We will head in from the north, east and south with the help of precincts two and three._ _We will leave the west open since they cannot escape from that direction as there is nothing but a cliff there and they will be forced to surrender," Bogo stood up staight and rigid as he told everyone to gear up._

 _Nick and Judy left the room to head to the "armory" as they called it to get all the gear they will need for this operation. Nick watched as Judy began to take_ _off her gear in front of him, causing him to blush intensely. "Uh Carrots, don't forget we are still at work, this isn't like back at your place," Nick gave her a smirk as her ears perked up and she looked at him._

 _"It's not like I'm going nude; I do have tanktop and shorts under this, sheesh," Judy rolled her eyes as she pulled her shirt off and replaced it with a mesh-like shirt_ _and then covered that with heavy body armor._ _Nick shook his head and smiled as he followed her lead and began to remove his own shirt and put on the light-weight mesh that will then be covered in armor as_ _well. Judy stared at Nick as he tossed his shirt to the side, causing Nick to notice the feeling of her eyes on him. He looked over to Judy and could see that look of hers she had when she just daydreams about him._

 _"Like what you see, Carrots? Because I can tell that you are just undressing me with those eyes," Nick flexed for her, making his muscles more pronounced making Judy_ _laugh with embarassment._

 _"I'm sorry Nick. It's just- uhh- well, it's just bunny stuff," Judy turned around to hide her blushing at being caught before putting her helmet and the rest of her armor on._

 _"It's OK, Carrots. I understand, but I have something to tell you," Nick reached for his pocket and was turning around to see that she was no longer there. Nick_ _sighed as he finished grabbing up the stuff that he will need and left the room._

Nick was thrown out of his memories as the car bounced when they hit a pothole. He looked around to see that Judy was not looking like her normal self and began to speak up. "Judy, you seem pretty calm about this, in fact, you seem eager," Nick commented at how her ears were standing up straight and how Judy was tense yet shaking at the same time.

"Yeah I'm looking forward to bringing in these criminals once and for all; they have hurt my home for far too long!" Judy threw a smile at Nick to reassure him all is well.

"Remember Judy to relax and be careful, these people are dangerous." Nick pulled out his shotgun and Judy's rifle and began to make sure they were loaded and the safeties were still on.

"I know, I still can't believe that they almost killed Wolford when they uncovered him," growled Judy as her paws tightened around the steering wheel as she recalled the whole scene, the blood covering the floor and how his legs had been mangled. She remembered how Fangmeyer had taken the news, him falling to the ground in a crying mess. "He has more rights then most on the force to want these bastards to be brought in. Still, I'm surprised the Chief let him go on this operation," thought Judy as she turned down a dirt road.

They were now heading out of the city's limits as the 'nip' den was just outside of the Meadowlands. Precincts one, two and three were all heading there at once. This would be the single biggest drug bust in ZPD history and Judy was in charge of her squad. She had seen what "nip" does to mammals; they completely lose control of their nervous systems, destroying them from the inside yet all the while, it caused them absolute bliss as though they were on clouds. They had warned the city over and over to avoid the drug, but it was just everywhere. To think that such a small pill could do so much in such little time.

"This is Officer Hopps. Everyone be ready to move in. We are ten minutes out from the target, get ready!" Judy picked up her car's radio and talked into it as she kept her eyes on the small dirt road.

"Judy, this might not be the right time to ask this, but I was wondering..." Nick began to reach for his pocket as he spoke, but he was cut off instantly by Judy.

"Not now, Nick. We need to focus on this operation one hundred percent," Judy said sternly as she stared at the road.

Nick stared at her with extreme concern. Judy may have been very passionate about her job and helping others, but she was taking this case way too personally. "I guess it can't be helped when one of her sisters got ahold of it when she came to visit." thought Nick as he could still hear the crying from Judy that night when she had called Nick from her phone asking for help.

She survived, but now she can't use her right arm anymore and it left her slightly groggy. It was a vile drug and Nick was more than excited to be here as well to end this problem once and for all. But he couldn't help being worried about what Judy might do. He didn't want anyone hurt by these people or their drugs and from what he had learned about himself since he had joined the force, he was a very protective person and hated to see the ones he came to care about hurt or sad at all.

"Get your weapons ready, guys. We arrive in five minutes!" Judy once again spoke into the radio mike and she was clenching the wheel like it was gold as her paws dug into it.

"Officer Hopps, we should wait! Precints two and three are still ten minutes out!" It was Fangmeyer who responded through the radio, concern could be heard covering every word.

"We are the ZPD's best and I'm sure none of you want these guys to get away because we had to wait for back up. We are covered head to toe in the best equipment this city could give us. I think we can do this!" Judy shouted this as though it was a speech of inspiration and to Nick's amazement, everyone responded with a mighty, "YEAH!"

"Judy, I think Fangmeyer may have a point, we should wait for backup. These people are very dangerous and they are not afraid to try and kill us when we attempt to arrest them," Nick put his paw on Judy's shoulder as he tried to talk some sense into her.

"Nick, my mind is made up and you know very well that I am not going to change it," stated Judy as she looked over at Nick and gave him a wink. Nick knew there was no changing her mind so all he could do was finish up with the guns and do his best to make sure this doesn't get out of hand. Nick looked out the window and could see the sun was now starting to set and very quickly as well. From that he could tell it would be dark in an hour or so. Nick sighed as he put the magazine back into Judy's rifle and placed it in its slot behind her before placing shells into his own gun.

Nick was still nervous even though they had plenty of weapons including tranquilizers and live rounds alike to bring them in. Nick looked out the front window just as he was placing the last shell into its place, to see the rundown airfield and the massive hanger that was the base of operations for these criminals. The entire field was empty and devoid of all life making him wonder. "Where the hell is everyone?"

"This is it, guys! Turn your sirens on and lets bag them up!" Judy screamed into the radio microphone and turned her sirens followed by the lights. Not even two seconds later, the whole silence had been broken by all the cars and the wailing of sirens as they drove right onto the tarmac at full speed. It didn't take even a minute for them all to pull up and surround the front of the hangar and get into position behind their vehicles.

"This is the ZPD! Come out with your hands up, we have you surrounded!" Judy was holding a megaphone in her hands and spoke into it with an absolutely commanding voice. They all stood there with their weapons in their hands waiting for their response, quietly.

"Fuck off!" called a voice from above them, causing everyone to look up and see three large bears with two of them holding assault rifles and one with a very large rifle looking down at them. Nick recognized him as the main enforcer of the Nippers and was a very cruel animal

"You have ten seconds to comply or we WILL come in there!" Judy once again demanded their surrender.

"And I said to fuck off, but now we have to do this the hard way!" the bear in the middle pulled out a whistle and blew into it, causing all the canine officers to drop to their knees and cover their ears, including Nick.

"Nick! Whats wrong? Fangmeyer? Barry?" Judy could only watch as all three of them were whining and grabbing at their ears, trying to block out the noise that no one else could hear. Judy looked over to Delgato and pointed at the bear on the roof. Without hesitation, he aimed his rifle and fired at the bear, hitting him in the chest with a dart. He stumbled back, causing him to stop blowing into the strange whistle. Almost instantly Nick, Fangmeyer and Barry all got up as fast as they could.

"We got you right where we want you, you filthy cops!" screamed one of the bears as he pointed past them all. Judy turned around and was frozen in fear by what she saw. They were completely surrounded by thugs with assault rifles and similar weapons. Judy couldn't hold back her shock as her eyes grew wide and her mouth formed a single word, "No."

"Take cover!" was all Judy had time to say before the sound of gunfire erupted all around them. Delgato the lion took three bullets as he tried to get behind a car only to be shot and hit by the bears on the roof and from inside the hangar itself as the doors opened up to reveal even more gangsters. Judy watched in horror as she saw him twitch and convulse from taking bullet after bullet before falling onto his side with blood pooling all around him. Judy took aim at those that were behind them and began to fire indiscriminately at their attackers. Judy heard the yipping of Barry the hyena when he was hit by a stray bullet as he was hiding behind a car door.

Nick ducked underneath one of the cruisers and took aim at the ones coming from the hangar and fired at them. Nick watched as two of them fell to him before he watched as a crazed looking panther rushed over towards Waggins the tiger with a large cleaver.

"Waggins look out!" Nick cried out, but it was too late as the panther tackled him into one of the police cruisers and Nick could hear his screams as blood sprayed onto the front window.

"Oh god, this is Officer Hopps requesting back up, we have multiple officers down and we are completely surrounded!" Judy screamed into the radio on her shoulder.

"This is Officer Louis from precinct two. ETA is three minutes. Hold on!" shouted a voice from her radio as Judy dropped it to continue firing at her attackers. Judy watched as her attackers closed in on them even though she had brought down a number of them. Judy was so focused on what was in front of her that she didn't hear the ones coming from behind her. She began to reload her rifle as quickly as possible and just as she was about to place the clip into the gun when she heard the animal behind her. She jumped forward and twisted her body and took aim at the mammal behind her. Judy was stunned at how young the beaver attacking her was, but she still pulled the trigger and watched as the girl beaver went limp and fell on top of her.

Nick was still firing his weapon as more and more of them came out of the hangar, incoherently screaming nonsense and hyped-up on drugs and alcohol alike. Nick suddenly heard screaming coming from behind him and quickly turned around underneath the car to see Bowell the polar bear fighting to get animals off of someone a few cars down. Nick rolled out from under the car and rushed over, shooting his pistol to his left where the mammals who surrounded them came from. Nick ran as fast as he could to reach them and just steps away Bowell's head jerked to her left and blood sprayed from her right temple and she fell over.

"NOOOO!" Nick screamed as he got there to see her eyes glazed over and unresponsive. Nick heard the muffled cries of someone underneath a dead beaver and saw that it was Judy.

"Judy get up! We need to find cover!" Nick rolled the animal off of her and held his hand out to grab hers and pulled her to her feet.

"Nick! Judy! Over here!" screamed someone behind them and they turned to see Fangmeyer the wolf bleeding from his shoulder and hiding behind the door to their massive truck that was armor plated. They could see some their friends trying to use it as cover as best as they could from the hellfire of bullets surrounding them.

Time began to slow down for Nick as she and Judy got up and ran over to the truck and their possible savior. Nick's head slowly turned to the left to see another officer and friend fall to the Nippers as he slumped against a car and slowly slide down its door. He looked to his right next, to see that the mammals that had gotten behind them were now running away as further past them was a convoy of police cars speeding their way. He felt relief at seeing back up and he began to run even harder with Judy's hand in his as he looked back towards Fangmeyer.

His blood ran cold when he saw a wolf walk up behind Fangmeyer coming from the other side of the truck and pointed his revolver at his head. Nick screamed out, but heard nothing except the blood rushing in his ears as he saw the flash of the gun and how Fangmeyer simply fell to his knees with tears instantly swelling in his eyes as he turned around to see who had shot him. Nick could see him mouth out his final words before taking a second bullet to his forehead. Nick will never forget what he saw, "I'm sorry Wolford."

Nick began to slide to a stop as he reached for the closest door to him so he and Judy could hide inside to avoid all of this. His hand clamped around the door handle. Nick began to turn the handle when the tight grip on his other hand suddenly go limp. His heart froze in mid-beat as it took nearly an eternity for him to turn around to see what had happened. Tears began to form when he saw blood expanding in the center of Judy's chest and he was terrified to see the look in her eyes. Fear, sadness, anger and finally, acceptance could all be seen at the same time as she slowly looked down at her chest. Slowly, she crumpled into Nick's arms as blood began to ooze out of her mouth.

"Judy! Oh my God! Judy!" Nick screamed as he opened the door and dragged her into the car and getting in it himself. Bullets could be heard bouncing off of the car they were inside, but that did not matter to Nick as he pulled off her armor and ripped open her shirt while grabbing at the first-aid kit next to him. Blood was everywhere and there was so much of it.

"N... Nick I... _"_ _cough"_ I'm so... sorry," _"_ _cough" "cough"_ Judy tried to speak as she violently coughed up blood, splattering it all over Nick's face and clothes.

"Judy, please be quiet, you need to save your strength. I'm going to make this all better. I promise you." Nick was panicking as he pulled out the bandages and attempted to stop the bleeding coming from the center of her chest.

"It's OK Nick... _"_ _cough"_ This is what I get for _"_ c _ough"_ n... not waiting... for backup." Judy reached up to touch Nick's face, but Nick didn't notice it as he was applying pressure to try and stop the bleeding. "Nick, I got everyone killed, didn't I?" Judy suddenly asked, causing Nick to stop very quickly.

"Thats not true, Judy! Don't you dare think that!" Nick shouted as he returned to his first-aid kit and trying his best to help her. The blood began to cover

Judy's chest and stomach completely, along with Nick's hands as he continued to do all he could to stop it from leaving her body.

"Nick _cough_ Its all my fault. I couldn't help the city and caused even more harm again _cough_ I got Fangmeyer killed along with," started judy but was cut off when an extremely violent fit of coughs that cause her to spray even more blood onto Nick's fur.

"Judy, don't you dare think that! I will not lose you too!" cried Nick as he looked over to see Judy was crying heavily as tears rolled down her face.

"Nick, do you remember the first time we made love?" Judy asked, trying to make the most of the situation.

"We don't have time for that!" Nick's paws were soaked with blood, but he finally managed to get the bleeding to stop.

"Nick, there is always time to remember the past so now answer me, do you remember?" Judy asked sternly as her hand finally reached Nick's blood-speckled face.

"Yes, Judy. I do remember. It was just after ten at night and we had just come home from a romantic dinner in the Rainforest District. We were kissing furiously as we entered your apartment and feeling each other's hot breaths on each other. Our hands roamed and gripped whatever we could as we fell onto that rickety bed of yours," Nick slowly began to tell her the story. He looked over to see that she was smiling and her breathing was getting more and more shallow. Nick slowly press his face into her hand to let her know that he was there for her.

"You were very eager to remove my clothes and I was just a passanger on that ride that night." Nick could feel her heart beat slower and slower as tears formed in his eyes.

"Judy, I hate to bring it up now, but I just want you to know that you have made me the happiest fox in the whole world and I never want that to end." Nick was sobbing uncontrollably as he reached into his pocket one last time and pulled out a small rectangular box.

"I have a confession as well, Nick. _"cough" "cough"_ Remember when I said I was dealing with bunny stuff?" Judy's tears were like a never ending river as she was also crying intensely.

"Me first, Judy. I saw this the other day and thought it would have been perfect for our two year wedding anniversary and just couldn't wait to give it to you," Nick opened up the box to reveal an orange-colored diamond on a gold necklace with two bright, vibrant sapphires on opposite sides of the orange diamond.

"Oh Nick, it's beautiful can you help me put it on? _"cough" "cough"_ Oh I guess I do have a surprise of my own, I found out last night that I am _"cough"_ one week pregnant." Nick's heart shattered when he heard those words and all of the happiness left his body.

"P... pregnant?" Nick stuttered out as he looked Judy in the eyes and he felt just the slightest of heartbeats as Nick did his best to place the necklace on Judy with his shaking hands.

"I have never been happier than I was with you and I would have loved to have a family with no one else but you. It's been quite the hustle if I do say so myself, Slick Nick," Judy managed to say before shuddering suddenly in Nick's arms causing her hand fall from his face just as he clipped the necklace on. Nick could only stare for a moment before breaking down into a crying mess.

"Judy? Judy?! NOOO JUDY! Oh God Judy no, no, no, no!" Nick cried as he brought her limp body against his own and hugged her tightly, feeling the warmth of her body slowly, very slowly receding. He looked into her eyes to see that they were empty of emotion and life. Nick held onto her tightly for who knows how long while crying the entire time until finally, the door in front of him opened up. Nick raised his pistol at the intruder only to see that it was Chief Bogo.

"My God, Nick! Are you alri..." He stopped what he was saying as he saw that Nick was covered in blood and holding onto Judy. "Nick, I'm so sorry." Bogo backed up after saying this and walked away to leave Nick to himself.

"Judy, I'm so sorry I couldn't save you or anyone. But I will make it up to you Judy, I will! I will help all I can and bring the law back into Zootopia by any means necessary." Nick looked up and felt his heart grow cold and dead as he made a pact to bring down a reign of tyranny on all who defy the law. He will do whatever it takes to keep this city clean and free of all crime even if it would kill him. He will bring down the law onto those who would spit in its face.

"Judy, I will make the world a better place!" Nick slowly put her head down onto a pillow made from clean bandages and used his two fingers to gently close her eyes before eventually climbing out of the car to see that the gunfight was over and that the police were now dragging criminals out and tossing them into trucks while zipping up black bags. He was in that car the whole time crying and he didn't even notice that it was over. Nick looked around to see that he was the only one in his squad still alive as he saw his friends lined up in bags with their badges on top of them.

"I will never let this happen again." Nick vowed as he walked to Chief Bogo to tell him what had happened. The sun was setting along with a happy chapter in his life and to be replaced by a more grim and darker one.

 _((((Author's Notes))))_

 _Well all I have to say is that it was not easy (emotionally) for me to write this story. I had times where I just had to stop or else I would just break down._

 ** _This is my interpretation of what happened in the nip den mentioned by Mistermead's comic "Judy is Dead"_**

 _He/she did post a while back that we writers were allowed to write this and for that I am thankful as I just could not sit around and let this haunt my dreams._

 _I just had to write about it. And to the Beta who helped me with this you know who you are ;) thank you so much!_

 _Mistermead if you are reading this please don't stop and keep going and thank you for allowing me to write this._

 _Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to read this. Please have a great day/night._


	2. The Funeral

Nick woke shaking with sweat as he reached out for Judy only to find that he was alone again just like the past week. "I can't believe its been a week already.  
I miss her so much." Nick got out of the bed to prepare for the very long and emotional day ahead of him.

"Today is the funeral, Judy's family will be there, all of them," mumbled Nick to no one but himself. He looked in his closet and found his special uniform for certain occasions and today was certainly a special day. Today will be the last day he will ever see her face before being place in the ground. The thought alone of seeing her again like that tore his already lacerated heart into smaller pieces. Nick recalled seeing her in the morgue as he stared at her still figure as he dumped his heart and soul into an apology that she will have never heard. The morgue was where he gave her one last kiss of goodbye on her forehead before leaving the cold room for good. That was days ago and it still burned into his mind, it was all he could see in front of him, it haunted him day and night mercilessly. It was like a bad dream that would never go away but this was no dream, this was real life and he had to live with his mistakes and loss.

Nick placed the uniform on the bed before heading into the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth for the most painful day he will most likely ever deal with.  
As Nick stood under the cold water he felt the water run down his snout and into his mouth and was followed by the taste of salt which caused him to quickly apply shampoo and conditioner before washing it out of his fur. Nick stepped out and began to dry himself off with the closest towel to him. It was only after pulling it away from his face did he realize that he was using Judy's carrot towel causing him to bring it to him and hug it tightly.

Driving in his car, Nick was heading to the cemetery where they will hold the funeral for all of the cops who have died a week ago. He sat in silence for most of the way before it began to drive him insane causing him to turn the radio on. Most of the songs on today were all the hits of today and gave him something to distract him from the day ahead, even if it was only for a bit. "Thank you for tuning into Zootopia's number one station 98.0 the hits! For six years of having fans such as yourselves so here is a treat from our beginning! "Try Everything" by Gazelle!" shouted the radio host before the song started up. Nick instantly turned the station off but the damage was already down as he began to cry in the car as he sped down the highway.

It was nearly impossible but he finally managed to calm himself down just minutes before arriving at the cemetery along with hundreds of cars, trucks, and vans. "That's right, most of the city will be here," groaned Nick outloud with a snarky demeanor as he opened the door and got out of the car.

He looked around and saw citizens from all sides of the tracks showing up to show their respect for the fallen cops. Ignoring everyone Nick walked into the large area field filled with tombstones creating row after row of graves. Nick was holding his officer's hat the whole time as he headed towards the massive open area where not a single grave was set, that was until today, now that patch of land will be the home of thirteen officers. All of whom Nick had became very close to,  
one more than any of the others. Nick quickly headed over and took his place next to all of the officers of precinct one and waited for everyone to arrive and for it to began. Nick placed the hat on his head and stood resolute as he waited for hundred more to arrive.

After nearly twenty minutes of waiting did Nick finally spot hundreds of rabbits show up with Stu and Bonnie leading them all. The Hopps family quickly made their way to the front and gazed upon the caskets that held their daughter, sister, aunt, and cousin. Stu was already breaking down into a sobbing mess and they haven't began to start the funeral itself. It was another five minutes before the priest began to do his final rites of the dead. It was long, monotoned and left a feeling of loneliness as Nick felt every, single, word stab his heart over and over. Nick looked around and saw Wolford being wheeled to the front by Clawhauser as his legs were now missing as they had to be amputated when he was savagly beaten by the Nippers when they discovered him. Nick watched with understanding as he was crying over the loss of Fangmeyer his partner and lover.

Sniffs, sobbing and crying could be heard throughout the crowd as he felt the pain of those affected without feeling the pain itself. The atmosphere of the graveyard was that of loss, pain, and saddness that could not be denied or ignored. Nick looked over to the Hopps clan and could see that they were all very sadden at the loss of one of their own. Stu met Nicks eye but looked away with disgust as he was still crying heavily. Bonnie looked over at Nick aswell but she gave a slightly more kind look but was it was still obvious that upset with him. As the day pressed on the priest allowed people say their final farewells and give a few words of their own giving each fallen hero's friends and family have something to say before moving onto the next coffin.

After an hour or it was now Fangmeyer's turn for his closest friends and family to have their moment with him and to say some final words aswell. Wolford was the first to go first as Clawhauser helped him to the front so he could say what he needed to say. "I met Fangmeyer when we were at the academy. We were both the only wolves to try out that year and because of that we were quick to make friends with each other. We helped each other with our studies and encouraged each other to never give up and to keep moving forward no matter how hard it got. Just days before we graduated we decided to go watch a movie together and it was that night we realized we were in love. I'll miss his very bad jokes and laughing at them even if they weren't funny. I never told him that his jokes were bad because they meant so much to him and in turn they were everything to me," Wolford stopped for a moment as he chuckled to himself, "I rememeber the first joke he ever told me, what do you count cows with? He would ask and of course I didn't know so I asked him. He told me you count cows with a COWculator." Wolford by now was crying but also laughing at the horrible pun which caused him to make a strange sound.

"I just wish I could have said goodbye to him one last time before he went in on that drug bust. I... I..." but Wolford couldn't continue as he was now just crying when Clawhauser helped him go back into the crowd as he was done.

Nick zoned out after that thinking about what he could say when it came to his turn to talk about Judy and how she meant everything to him. He thought up elaborate ideas about how she changed his life, or how she had helped the city more than any mammal has ever done. He was slightly shaking as the day drew on and the night was approching in a few hours. Nick was thrown from his trance as Stu was now heading up to talk about Judy. Nick knew it would be a while as most of the Hopps family will most likely say something.

"The first time I heard Judy wanted to be a cop was when she was nine years old and putting on a play at the local fair. Bonnie and me were both stunned and scared for her as no bunny has ever been a cop before. But she didn't give up not even after getting bullied for her ideas. She was a tryer and she did her best and to our surpise and everyone in Bunny Burrows she actually made it. She proved everyone wrong with sheer determination and perserverance. She had finally became not only the first bunny cop in Zootopia but she paved a way for other species to do things they would never have thought possible." Stu paused for a moment before Bonnie came up and began to speak as Stu broke down once again.

"She had made us all so proud and it was absolutely strange feeling as we now had worry in our hearts. To think that our daughter was on those mean streets just doing her thing. She was doing wonderful things in this city and we were overwhelmed with joy at what great ways of helping she was doing. Stopping conspiracies and murderers alike. We thought we would ever be more proud of her until she told us she was seeing someone who cares for her alot. To think that she was dating someone dispite never once looking at a single buck back home amazed us. Who could have snatched away her heart when she was so convicted on her career. She told us that she was bringing him over during a weekend trip and we were delighted to see who she was bringing home. We were so surprised when she stepped off of the train with a fox." Bonnie was maintaining a stern composure as Stu was taken off of the stage by some of his sons and daughters.

"Lets just say Stu didn't take it well but over the course of the weekend Stu eased up and accepted it quite well. And on the last night before they would return to Zootopia Nick had pulled both Stu and me aside and asked a question I never could have expected from a fox or from anyone concerning Judy. He asked for our blessing as he wanted to marry our daughter. We were stunned by what he had said but after a few moments both of us had said yes to his request. Jeepers was it hard to sit through that dinner waiting for him to propose to her like he had planned. It was beautiful when he dropped on one knee acting like he had dropped his fork and then surpising Judy with the ring. It... it... I can't go on I'm sorry." Bonnie could no longer stay calm as she told the story and walked off stage with a new rabbit taking the stage now. Her fur was tan with a white neck and brown eyes. The fur between the ears on top of her head grew out quite unusually for a rabbit but made her also quite different than most rabbits. Nick recognized her but before he could recall her name she began to speak.

"Hello my name is Jackie Hopps and Judy was my sister as we both shared the same room for most of our lives. I was there when Nick had proposed to my sister and to be honest I was astonished at the whole thing I actually dropped my spoon and sat there with my mouth open the whole time. I never thought she would ever settle down but there she was saying yes to a fox, a fox of all things. It didn't take long for the marriage to be set up and it was amazing everyone was having a good time despite it being the first interspecies marriage inside of Zootopia. She was proud, strong, and most of all forgiving of everyone she ever met." Jackie shot a smirk towards a certain fat fox in the crowd causing him to blush but also feel terrible about what he had done years ago. Jackie stood on the stand for a moment longer before she couldn't think of anything else to say and quietly left the stand.

Nick felt it was his time to speak as no one else moved forward. He took his hat off as he walked up to the stand and stared at the crowd. He could see all of their faces as they were filled with sadness, anger, resentment, and worry. "Hello, I'm Nick Wilde and I just have a few words to say as I don't want to take away to much time from the Hopps family. Judy was the most amazing rabbit I have ever met, her attitude towards life was a like a light on my cold miserable existance as a former con-artist. It was during her first case, the dreaded nighthowler case was when she gave me a chance to be something I thought I could never do, be helpful for once. After the case I decided to join the force as it was much greater than my childhood dream of being a scout. It wasn't even because of that dream I joined, I joined because of her. I had fallen in love with her during that first case and did my best to deter her at first as I thought she was just a torn in my side." Nick took a moment as he pulled out a small hankercheif and wiped away a tear before anyone could see it.

"But over the duration of her investigation I didn't want nothing more to do than be with her, next to her. She had made me happier than I ever felt in my life." Nick paused again as he stood there silent for a nearly a minute before speaking up again. "I was there when she... she died. She loved me with all her heart as did I with her. I gave her a necklace and helped place it on her as she laid dying in my arms. Even at her final moments she was still trying to be brave and wanting to help the world." He knew he was lying as he recalled how scared she was in those final moments. He wanted to keep her image of strength intact as he told his feelings about her. Nick took a deep breathe before looking at the crowd and seeing some of them were angry at him.

"Of course they are angry at me, the only survivor of the massacre and being here in general will seem like an insult to their memories to some of them." Nick thought as he realized most of the Hopps' older members had the same look. He came to the conclusion that he had overstayed his welcome with the family and decided to leave the stage and stand next to the other officers.

At least nearly another dozen or so rabbits walked up to the stage and said what they needed to say to help them move on. Finally after another hour did they began allow the families of the deceased one last look with Nick being the last one to see. She was still wearing the necklace he had given her that day and she had a peaceful look on her face. Her fur was well groomed and looked soft to touch as he reached a hand out but stopped just inches from her cheek. "I loved you more than life itself Judy, I hope you know that." Nick whispered to her before walking away and standing behind all of the rabbits as they took their places near the hole where she would be lowered into. He stood there with his hat in his arm. After a few moments Chief Bogo walked next to him and spoke to him while placing a hand on his shoulder. "Nick, she was brave and strong we are all going to miss her, and please take all the time you need off." Nick didn't say anything as Bogo left him to go check in on the other officers and families.

With a growing sense of despair Nick watched as fellow officers carried the first of all the coffins which also happened to be Judy's to their final resting place. Along with Judy's coffin, he also watched as all his happiness be lowered into the ground. The despair was unbearable as he watched for as long as he was able until the large mass of rabbits blocked what view he had left. He did not see the coffin lightly touch the dirt but heard the very soft thud of it causing his eyes to go wide with realization. "This isn't a dream, it never was and will always be real." Nick mumbled to himself with nobody (not even the rabbits) hearing him.

Nick stood there quietly watching as the hole was filled with dark dirt as the sky began to darkened. The sun was going down and Nick wanted nothing more than to hide himself in the dark and be alone with his misery. Finally the last bit of dirt was placed as members of the Hopps family began to leave. Nick understood why some left so quickly as he too wanted to run away and not face the facts of death and loss. He stayed though as he was not going to show the world that this got to him so hard. He will stay strong for justice, for love, for her. Finally after a long time all that remained at her grave was Nick, Stu, Bonnie, and Jackie.

"Why are YOU still here fox?" hissed Stu as he turned around and saw Nick standing there.

"Because she was my wife and the love of my life!" Nick snapped back at Stu with the same tone as him.

"I never should have let you marry her! You promised to keep her safe and secure and you broke that promise." shouted Stu as he reached into his pocket.

"Stu calm down, Nick did his best I'm sure of it!" Bonnie said with a slightly raised voice as she grabbed hold of his arm.

"I bet you only made it out because you were hiding! Like all foxes you just a shifty low life!" Stu pulled out a fox taser and pointed it at Nick aggressively before continuing, "Well what do you have to say for yourself, FOX?" demanded Stu as he turned the taser on and thrust the taser at Nick.

Nick watched as the world slowed down bit by bit while watching it coming closer and closer. He could easily dodge but he chose not. Taking the full force of before speaking up over the sound created by it. "Its true, I hide under a car trying to avoid the gunfire while everyone else died around me," Nick finally fell to his knees as he couldn't take any more of the electricity.

"I failed my duties as her husband and should be punished for it!" screamed Nick as both Jackie and Bonnie tried to pull Stu back away from Nick.

"I hope you live with that knowledge and should you ever go near anyone in my family again, I will kill you!" Stu stated as he put his taser away and stomped back to all the cars they had rented with tears streaming down his face. Bonnie glanced back at Nick before following Stu. Nick stood back up and was greeted by the sight of Jackie staring at him. Nick never noticed she was holding babies in pouch this whole time as she reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Nick, Judy was a wild spirit and very, very independant and the fact that she would even settle down astonishes me let alone it being a fox. She adored you more than anyone in my family could possibly know. Don't beat yourself up to hard Nick, she lives on even if she is not here anymore," Jackie placed her hand on his chest just over his heart.

"So when did you have kids? Last time I saw you was at the wedding and to me it looked like you would never settle down just like how you explained Judy." Nick looked down at the little baby rabbits in her little pouch that was hanging from he chest.

"Love is a strange thing Nick, you should know." Jackie looked down as one of the little ones was squirming around vigorously.

"Well isn't she a trooper, what's her name?" asked Nick as he smiled at the little furball.

"Her name is July, July Hopps and she is always so rambunctious. Isn't that right July." Jackie carefully patted her on the head before looking back at Nick.

"Nick please take care, Judy would not want to see you so devastated and beaten," said Jackie as she turned around and left before Nick could say anything else.

Nick looked one last time at the grave and ready the tombstone outloud to himself. "Here lies Judith Laverne Wilde, friend, officer and loving wife," Nick paused before reading on, "Time to make the world a better place."

 _((((Author's Notes))))_

 _Well Mistermead has finally done it, well indirectly though but here I was crying, shedding tears as I wrote this. There wasn't much just a tear or two but they were real._ _It's been years since I shed a single tear over anything._ _So in Mistermead's comic I noticed that Nick seemed to have no connection to the Hopps family what so ever so I thought I would give him a reason of some kind._ _It doesn't seem to far off as Stu was very worried about foxes from what it seemed for quite a while and I do believe that old habits are hard to get rid of._ _And with the death of Judy it could have possible triggered something in him to resent foxes once again._ _And if you didn't catch it but the "fat fox" was Gideon. When I looked at the family I realized not a single sibling was ever mentioned and I found it odd then I came across Jackie Hopps an OC created by GrummanCat and she was just what I was looking for!_ _I'm sorry for all the sadness in this story but as I said last chapter this story is a fanfic of Mistermead's AU comic Judy is Dead over at his tumblr._ _Its an amazing comic and was just inspiring to me._ _let me know if you have hated this story or enjoyed it and please have a great week/weekend!_

 ** _((Credit))_**

 _Jackie Hopps is a OC of GrummanCat over on DeviantArt and I was allowed and given permission by the artist to use her._

 _Jackie is a well created character and should definitely be checked out. She is from a AU where "Toons" and humans live together just like in_

 _Who Framed Roger Rabbit._


	3. The Final Straw

The bar was empty except for a few stragglers, as it was nearly time for them to close up finally. One such straggler was a red fox wearing his favorite shirt and tie, the same shirt and tie he met _her_ in. In front of him were too many shot glasses to count with a large bottle in the middle of them all. Off in a corner a jukebox was playing some old, classic rock. Nearby a snow leopard was trying his luck with a very pretty cheetah, as he was buying her a rather expensive drink. The fox simply rolled his eyes as he brought his phone to his ear again for the 30th time that night.

"Hello? Nick, its me Stu, I'm calling to say sorry for how I acted last night at her funeral. You've always been family to me and it was wrong for me to hurt you like I did. Listen I just want to talk about this, please. I don't want to push away my son-in-law. Please pick up the phone Nick, I've thrown out all of the fox repelling things out of disgust over what I did. It was hard for me yesterday, hard for all of us and I don't want to make the mistake of hurting this family even more, I'm sorry!" Nick pulled the phone away when it ended with a beep and gazed at the details hard. _Message received 1 year ago_.

"Has it really been a year?" thought Nick as he pulled the phone to his ear again and played the message again. Nick looked back on the past year as he listened to the words bouncing in his ear. Since her death Nick has changed dramatically, he no longer smiled, no longer joked, no longer showed mercy or sympathy for those who hurt others. He was now a hardened captain, rising through the ranks because he wanted to make the world a better place, for _her_. His determination was unstoppable, just like his hunger for justice upon the wicked and corrupt. He went the whole year without taking a single day off, working late till the sun rose. Some days he didn't sleep as he followed a case, the things he would do at the cost of his health were enough to cause others to worry immensely.

One such person was Finnick, when he heard about his loss, he did everything he could to cheer up his old partner. He would try and take him to some clubs when he was off duty, some clean others not so decent. But he didn't budge as he would tell him he had things to do. Things only he could do. Finnick watched as his best friend slowly fall into such a deep pit, until finally Nick cut himself off from him all together. Finnick was no longer able to help his friend as he never wanted any, from anyone.

Nick poured himself another glass and gulped it down easily. He was drinking hard, drinking to remove the pain in his heart. Trying to fill the hole left by the loss of her with cheap liquor. No matter how much he tried to fill it, it would only get bigger it seems. It was and endless cycle of pain and sorrow. He placed the phone down before pulling out a badge from his pocket and looking at it intently. _Zootopia_ was on the top half while _Police_ was on the bottom half, in the center sat a star with the words Trust, integrity, and Bravery encircled the star. He looked at it as though, trying to find something off about it. After searching for a few minutes he gave up as he recalled asking for this special badge.

 _"Are you sure you want to do this Nick?" asked Clawhauser with concern, "I mean these are your..." Nick held up his paw to stop him._

 _"I know what they are! What I'm asking is, will you do it?" Nick sternly looked into the eyes of the plump cheetah in front of him._

 _After a moments pause did Clawhauser finally break and sighed deeply. He pulled out a few sheets of paper and pushed them over to Nick, "Yes I can, but you have to sign these to get your new badge."_

 _"Very well," Nick responded as he began to quickly sign all the papers laid out in front of him. In a matter of minutes Nick was finished with the forms and pushed them back to Clawhauser, before he pulled to small objects from his pocket, placing them right on the paper. Clawhauser hesitated as he reached for the two gold rings on top of the papers._

 _"This must be hard for you Nick," said Clawhauser with sadness coating his voice._

 _"It is, Benji, it is, but now she will be close to my heart everyday," Nick said with a low voice before turning to leave the cheetah to his work._

That was months ago and the memory is still fresh as ever. Nick placed the badge on the counter carefully before taking another drink. The days were long, hard, and lonely for him now. He has been offered a new partner multiple times but declined it every time. He would carry the burden of the city's pain and suffering alone. He has been hard to all of his subordinates but he was fair. His motives have already caused some unrest in the station already as he revealed crooked cops on the take. Cops who had been corrupt were now behind bars, thanks to his karmatic justice he was determined to hold on to, for _her_.

Off in the corner of his eye did Nick spot the two felines leaving after the cheetah finished her drink. Nick scowled at the thought of love at the moment and took another drink from the bottle, causing the bartender to eye him with worry. "I think you've had enough buddy," insisted the camel with a kind smile.

"Fine," was all Nick said as the camel took the bottles and glasses from him. Nick didn't pay attention to him as he pulled the phone to his ear again to hear the message again. Nick was halfway through the message when the door to the outside world was thrown open with a loud crack as it hit the door stopper. Nick didn't look to see who it was as the camel glared at the newcomers.

"There you are!" a shrill voice rang out over the music and message Nick was listening to. Nick sighed as returned the badge back into his pocket, before he looked over to see a face he was too familiar with.

"What do you want? And why aren't you in your cell?" Nick growled angrily at the ewe standing before him. She was wearing a red skirt that went down just past her knees, she wore a jacket that was the same color with a white shirt underneath. Her wool was very puffy as the bit on her head was something he knew only one ewe had. She had big glasses that covered her big, green eyes.

"Why Nick, that's no way to greet an old friend, and as for your question, I got released just last week for good behavior. What timing too! I heard all about your through the news. The horrid gushing from the guards when you came out as the first public interspecies couple," the ewe's face contorted with disgust when she spat out the last two words.

"Bellwether, what are you doing here?" demanded Nick as he stared her down.

"I'm not finished!" shouted Bellwether as she took a moment to regain herself, "The news of marriage a year later just drove me nuts! I couldn't believe that a bunny was going to marry a filthy, conniving fox!" Bellwether's face was now one of pure rage as she recalled the news inside her cell.

"Like I care for your sad story, now leave," snapped Nick as he turned back to the counter. Bellwether was pissed, that he would turn his back on her, with a snap of her hoofs, the door opened up again as two rams walked in and got right behind the ewe.

"But what made my time in that hell hole worth it was when I heard she died in a "tragic" shootout. I never was more pleased than when I heard the commotion from the news! I was elated to see the funeral played on TV! I never thought I would live to see the day when that bitch would die," Nick's ears perked up as his body went rigid when he heard what she said.

Nick turned around on the stool before hopping off to stand tall in front of her. "What, did, you, just, say?" Word's could not describe the anger in his voice as he slowly said each word.

"You heard me, she should have just stayed in that town, fucking and multiplying to her hearts content," Bellwether point her hoof at the fox in an aggressive way as she drove the knife deeper, causing Nick to grew more pissed by the second.

"I will not stand here and listen to you insult her like that, leave or I will arrest you for harassment!" ordered Nick as he towered over the ewe.

"I will not be ordered by a fucking predator, especially a fox!" shouted Bellwether as she stomped her hoof on the ground.

"I'm not afraid of you Smellwether," Nick said with an extremely calm voice.

Bellwether's eyes grew wide with rage as she heard those words escape his lips. "What did you call me!" screamed the ewe with her voice nearly cracking.

"You heard me, I'm leaving," Nick stated firmly as he attempted to walk past the three.

"How dare you call me that and try to leave! And who said you were leaving here alive?" sneered Bellwether as she took a few steps back just as her "friends" rushed Nick.

Nick was expecting it to go like this since the moment she showed up. He quickly jumped backwards, causing one of the rams to run head first into the counter as he tried to pin him against it. Nick staggered horribly as he was fairly disoriented from all the drinking he's done this night. The bartender quickly ducked under the counter and pulled out his phone to call the police.

Nick was not reacting like he should as the other one drove his curled horns into his chest, knocking the wind from him. Nick slid across the floor crashing into a table's leg. Nick yelped as he felt his entire torso scream in pain as he quickly got up. The sound of glass breaking made him look up quickly. The ram who had ran into the counter was charging him with a broken bottle, slashing at him wildly. Forcing his body to react to memory, Nick raised his arm just as the broken bottle came down. Through muscle memory, Nick was able to use his forearm to connect with the rams wrist, stopping the bottle from coming any closer. The bottle was mere inches from Nick's face before it was pushed to the side as Nick threw his left arm to the side, bringing the rams with it. Not giving up his opportunity, Nick drove his fist right into the ram's nose.

He dropped to the ground in an instant as blood was already pouring from his nose. Nick looked over with fire in his eyes as the other ram narrowed his own.  
Being more cautious than his partner the ram pulled out a knife as he inched closer towards Nick. Nick with years of experience and practice raised his fists like a boxer would. Nick and the ram drew closer as Bellwether was watching all of this from her chair with delight. Nick glanced her way, which the ram took advantage of and drove the knife towards Nick. The fox turned his body to avoid the knife all together while getting in close, so the ram had to pull his arm back all the way to attempt another attack. Nick never gave him the chance as he grabbed the recoiling wrist and twisted it, hard, forcing the ram to cry out in pain and drop the knife. The ram leaned forward instinctively as he tried to pull his hoof back allowing Nick to use both of their momentums to drive home a devastating elbow to the face. The ram dropped just as quickly as the other leaving only Bellwether left.

Nick glared at her with an ice cold stare as he began to walk towards her. Bellwether's face turn from one of joy to fear as she scrambled off of her chair, backwards pushing more tables and chairs alike. Nick kept his eyes on her as he simply walked towards her in a calm way that made it so much more terrifying for the ewe. She was quickly backed up into a booth with the table digging into her back, with no where to go as she desperately looked around for an exit. Nick was mere feet from her when she suddenly pulled a gun from inside her jacket and pointed it at him. "Stay where you are!" challenged Bellwether as she slowly rose from the ground.

Nick froze for a moment before he saw how much she was shaking. Nick didn't smile as he took another step forwards. "I said stop or I will shoot!" demanded the terrified ewe.

"I thought you were here to kill me?" asked Nick as he looked around the small, empty bar.

"I am!" shouted Bellwether as she took the safety off.

"Then kill me!" growled Nick as he suddenly lunged at her.

 ** _crack_**

The only sound Nick could hear was the screaming of a sheep in pain. He looked down to see that Bellwether was sitting on the ground grabbing at her back as she cried out in pain.

"My back! It hurts so much!" screamed Bellwether as tears rolled down her face, "I can't feel my legs! Oh god, my legs!"

Nick's rage eventually subsided as the sound of police sirens could be heard off in the distance. He looked around to see that the gun as under a chair and out of the hands of malice. Nick looked down to see that the bullet had only grazed his arm as he had dived to the side to avoid the shot aimed for his chest, before tackling Bellwether the table behind her. The sound her back had made when she was folded against that hard, wooden table was a clear sign as to what happened.

"You don't need nighthowlers to make a predator to go savage, you just need to piss me off!" Nick paused as he gazed upon the broken sheep in front of him before he drove it home, "Look at you, now you truly are a spineless bitch," stated Nick as he left the building just as multiple police vehicles showed up. Nick walked up to one of them just as Bogo stepped out of it.

"Nick are you alright?" asked the chief as he looked at his arm and saw the blood.

"I'll live but she needs medical attention," answered Nick as he jerked his thumb backwards, towards the bar.

Bogo looked past him to see a few officers pull a wailing Bellwether from the building along with the two unconscious thugs. He shook his head in annoyance as he looked back down at the fox.

"Sir, I've got something to tell you and only you," started Nick as he looked into the buffalo's eyes. He watched as one of his brows raised up quizzically before continuing, "I'm going to be chief one day, so mammals like her can't run free because of "good behavior", its not right and the system needs fixing!" spat Nick as he looked down at the ground.

"Good, it's going to take time for me to become commissioner and there is no one I trust more in the force, to help the city than you," said Bogo as he turned around and got back in his police car. He rolled the window down just as he was backing up and called to Nick, "You still need to work for it over the next few years or the mayor will be on my tail about it!"

"Will do sir, will do!" Nick said to himself as he turned towards the ambulance showing up and waited for them to make sure he was alright. "I'll become chief,  
for her!" thought Nick as he watched Bellwether be placed in the ambulance a few moments later, "It's time for this world to be fixed!"

 _ **The End**_

 _((((Author's Notes))))_

 _I wish to say it again but this story was based off of the AU comic Judy Is Dead by Mistermead._

 _This is my interpretation of what happened to Judy during the mentioned "Nip Den" surrounding her death and how Nick dealt with it afterwards._

 _I wanted to wait and make sure the comic was over before I made the final chapter as I was constantly revising this story as I kept learning a new little detail every_

 _now and then._

 _Thank you all for staying with me till the end and please have a great day/night!_


End file.
